Kathmandu: Nepal`s dominant ruling Maoist
party was forced to put off its crucial public meeting on Tuesday
to avoid confrontation with the dissidents who had enforced
a general strike here.

The Maoists had called the public meeting to be
addressed by its supremo Prachanda to counter the Nepali
Congress`s protest rally that was held on Friday which drew a
large crowd.

This was the third shut down in the capital and other
major cities within a month as Nepal heads towards a
constitutional crisis with parties disagreeing to extend the
term of the Constituent Assembly which expires on May 28.

But the meeting was postponed with the fear of being a
poor show as the CPN-Maoist led by Matrika Yadav, a dissident
Maoist group, called general strike on the same day to halt
the process of extending the term of the Constituent Assembly
beyond May 28 deadline.